Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) Downgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Monday morning.

WLDN has been the topic of several other research reports. Roth Mkm upped their target price on Willdan Group from $34.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Wedbush restated an outperform rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of Willdan Group in a report on Monday, May 6th.

Willdan Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WLDN opened at $35.45 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a current ratio of 1.81. Willdan Group has a fifty-two week low of $17.09 and a fifty-two week high of $38.25. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.42. The company has a market capitalization of $495.95 million, a PE ratio of 38.12 and a beta of 1.38.

Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The construction company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $141.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $123.07 million. Willdan Group had a net margin of 3.10% and a return on equity of 12.06%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.19 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Willdan Group will post 1.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Willdan Group news, CEO Michael A. Bieber sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.46, for a total transaction of $27,345.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 169,726 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,188,209.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Michael A. Bieber sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.46, for a total value of $27,345.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 169,726 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,188,209.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas Donald Brisbin sold 5,267 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total value of $169,386.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 413,908 shares in the company, valued at $13,311,281.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 307,179 shares of company stock worth $9,531,433. Corporate insiders own 9.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Willdan Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of Willdan Group by 9.3% during the second quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 10,328 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $298,000 after acquiring an additional 877 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of Willdan Group by 52.9% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 78,110 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,253,000 after acquiring an additional 27,009 shares in the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Willdan Group during the second quarter worth about $235,000. ProShare Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Willdan Group during the second quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of Willdan Group by 339.9% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 55,426 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,599,000 after acquiring an additional 42,826 shares in the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Willdan Group

Willdan Group, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides professional, technical, and consulting services primarily in the United States. It operates in two segments, Energy, and Engineering and Consulting. The Energy segment offers comprehensive audit and surveys, program design and implementation, master planning, demand reduction, grid optimization, benchmarking analyses, design engineering, construction management, performance contracting, installation, alternative financing, measurement and verification services, and software and data analytics, as well as energy consulting and engineering, turnkey facility and infrastructure projects, and customer support services.